1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope and an image acquisition method, and more specifically, to an endoscope configured to project a pattern such as stripes or the like on a specimen and measure a 3-dimensional shape of a specimen surface, and a method of acquiring a plurality of images using the endoscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, in order to inspect a specimen, an endoscope including a long insertion unit and having an observation unit such as an optical system, an image pickup device, or the like, installed at a tip of the insertion unit is used. In such endoscopes, an endoscope configured to acquire a plurality of stripe images formed by projecting a stripe pattern on a specimen while deviating a phase of the stripe pattern and calculate a 3-dimensional shape of the specimen by a known phase shift method using the plurality of stripe images is already known. For example, US Patent Application, Publication No. 2009/0225321 discloses an endoscope having two projection windows configured to project stripes and installed at a tip surface of an insertion unit.